Winter is for the Birds:

Oshkosh Winter Farmer’s Market Saturday, February 2 9:00 am—1:00 pm City Center, 2 Jackson St., Becket’s Atrium Winnebago Audubon will be there to participate in the bird-themed activities. Come on down to see what is happening!

Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) February 15-18 The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of winter bird populations. Participants are asked to count birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the event and report their sightings online at www.birdcount.org. Anyone can take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count, from beginning bird watchers, to experts, and you can now participate from anywhere in the world! This is the year for you do it! The 16th annual GBBC will be held Friday, February 15, through Monday, February 18, 2013. Please visit the official website at www.birdcount.org for more information and be sure to check out the latest educational and promotional resources. It’s free, fun, and easy. Each checklist submitted during the GBBC helps researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society learn more about how birds are doing, and how to protect them and the environment we share. Last year, participants turned in more than 104,000 online checklists, creating the continent's largest instantaneous snapshot of bird populations ever recorded.

Birds & Bagels GBBC Saturday, February 16 8:00 am — $3.00/person. Reservations Required. Limit: 10. Enjoy a simple breakfast of bagels, fruit and beverage while watching birds come and go at the feeders with Anita Carpenter and Janet at the Wissink home near Pickett. We will be participating in the GBBC. Come prepared to spend some time outside too! We will take a walk down the road and/or drive over to Uihlein Marsh to see if there is any bird activity. Contact Janet to make your reservation: wiss@centurytel.net or 920-589-2602.

January/February 2013 All programs and activities are open to the public Vol. 33, No. 4

P.O. Box 184, Oshkosh, WI 54903 � Published eight times a year Editor: Janet Wissink, 7035 Mountain Rd., Pickett, WI 54964 � 920-589-2602 � wiss@centurytel.net

Check our website for up-to-date information: www.winaudubon.org

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Calendar of Events

Check out the website for details as they become available and in future newsletters.

Feb 2 Oshkosh Winter Farmer’s Market

Feb 15-18 Great Backyard Bird Count

Feb 16 Birds & Bagels GBBC

Feb 24 “Hooked on Nature” Ice Cream Social See page 2 for details.

Mar 23 Bluebirds and our Nest Box Trail

Apr 13 Annual Midwest Crane Count

Apr 20 Spring Banquet at Hilton Garden Inn. Dinner, Silent Auction, Awards followed by wildlife photographer John VandenBrandt

Apr 22 Fox Cities Book Festival features Richard Louv, author of “Last Child in the Woods”

May Birdathon Month

May 4 Oshkosh Bird Fest Sat. (www.oshkoshbirdfest.com)

May 11 Frog Night Hike with Randy Korb

June 9 Paddle Rush Lake

More field trips/programs are in the works!

. . . come on board!

It is already time to be looking ahead to our chapter’s new fiscal year that will begin on May 1. We would welcome the energy and ideas of new board members and volunteers to help us continue the 35 year tradition of bringing worthwhile programs and events to our community. Please consider volunteering to help with an event or to serve as a director. Attend a board meeting and meet the group. Or maybe you would like to nominate someone. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have about the responsibilities and time involved, so give me a call (589-2602) or send an e-mail (wiss@centurytel.net). - Janet

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Kid’s Eye View by Madeline Kneeland & Tim Kneeland

What Is All The Hooting About?

Have you wondered why there is an increase in hooting shortly after dusk and into the night, starting in October and continuing through the end of the year? It is probably great horned owls claiming new territory or strengthening their pair bonds. These hoots can be both territorial and a way for the male and female owl to communicate. Great horned owls are the first owls in the area, and maybe the first wild animals, to mate during the calendar year, starting in late January when the long nights provide for more hunting time. The male hoots to the female in fall, and she responds in a higher pitch. They will perform this duet for weeks throughout their territory, which can stretch for about a square mile. The male chooses a nest site, which can be a hawk, squirrel, or crows’ nest, or a tree cavity, then hoots to his mate and stomps his feet to show her what he has chosen. With a nest secured, the noisy couple finally quiet down. Great horned owl facts:

• Like most birds of prey, great horned owl females are much larger than males.

• Great horned owls love rabbits and other rodents, but they also will hunt and eat most anything with the exception of eagles and larger mammals. This includes other owls, skunks (owls can’t smell very well), porcupines, and sometimes small family pets!

• They may be the most common owl in Wisconsin, but they are not the largest. Those would be the snowy owls, coming in from the north during the winter.

Madeline is an 8th grader at Shattuck Middle School, Neenah, and volunteers with her dad, Tim, at Aves Wildlife Alliance.

Hooked on Nature Ice Cream Social

Sunday, February 24, 2013 — 1:30 pm Oshkosh Seniors Center - Oasis Room, 200 N. Campbell Rd., Oshkosh

The Ice Cream Social is an annual event that is always fun, free and open to the public! The Audubon board will treat you to ice cream and a variety of toppings while enjoying a "sundae" afternoon with friends - old and new - and a slide presentation by Len Place. “You and I were born into a world of living things and the majestic outdoors. We receive our physical and spiritual nourishment as we grow and interact with our surroundings,” says Len Place, who will take us on a quick trip of his life and involvement with "nature" beginning with his boyhood on the farm, his interest in the hobby of nature photography, monitoring a bluebird trail, and some surprises on various nature activities.

Nominations Sought for 2013 Katherine D. Rill Environmental Award

Each year Winnebago Audubon Society recognizes an individual (or an organization) from our community who has worked to achieve the Society’s objectives. The award was named to honor the memory of Katherine D. Rill who dedicated her time, skills and efforts to preserve and restore wildlife habitat, conserve birds, engage in citizen science, and educate others about natural systems. Past recipients have included George Curtis, Michael Lizotte, Paul Fowler, Quintin Metzig, and Elaine Swanson. Nominees for the Katherine D. Rill Environmental Award must be from our area. The candidate must have shown a dedication to preservation or restoration of habitat; or conservation of birds; or engagement in citizen science; or education of others about natural systems. Candidates may not nominate themselves. For more information on past recipients, visit www.winaudubon.org/issues or contact Janet (589-2602 / wiss@centurytel.net). Please send nominations to Winnebago Audubon Society, PO Box 184, Oshkosh, WI 54903 no later than March 16, 2013. Include your complete contact information along with a letter detailing why your nominee qualifies. The nominee should be able to attend the Spring Banquet on April 20, 2013 when the award will be presented.

Guides at Sullivan’s Woods Appreciated

Last fall 566 fifth grade students from the Oshkosh Area School District experienced an environmental education day at Sullivan’s Woods. For over 30 years the “Friends of Sullivan’s Woods” have volunteered to guide the students and assist with their assignments. Thanks to all the following people who donated their time and experience: Carolyn Blassingame, Sandi Challoner, Lorraine Eberle, Zaiga Freivalds, Pam and Larry Lang, Dave Misterek, Dave Moon, Jaci Mueller, Mary Beth Petesch, Karen Scheuermann, Barb Urbrock and Frank Zuern. More “Friends” are always welcome to join. Teaching experience is not required as you can learn by shadowing a veteran guide. For more information call Zaiga Freivalds at 233-5914.

Birdathon 2012 Sets Record

The final tally is in. Birdathon 2012 raised $2,394.00 for Winnebago Audubon. That’s money that will be used to present programs for members, school children and the community. Thanks again to the excellent birders who were out and about to see and count birds for us. Thanks to each of you that donated to make this effort a success. Thanks to Don and Carole Meton who recently sent a donation. Please join us in May for the 2013 Birdathon.

Save the Date!

Abundant black-capped chickadees, a few pine and evening grosbeaks and a covey of seven ruffed grouse were the highlights of an otherwise not-so-birdy Christmas Bird Count in Vilas County in mid-December. With the lack of snow and unseasonably warm, sunny weather (40° F), this was definitely not a typical northwoods bird count. What it did provide was a greater opportunity to look around. Instead of intently focusing on birds and snow-covered roads, I could pause and watch a large, round porcupine sleeping peacefully high in a tree. And I became curious about the sapling trees with dark, rusty brown leaves still clinging limply from their slender branches. I wondered, what are these trees? By examining the oval leaves, I immediately ruled out red oak trees which frequently retain their leaves through winter. My next thought was young beech trees which may also hang on to their leaves during winter. Although the mystery leaves and beech leaves looked similar, they weren’t medium tan like beech leaves and “something just didn’t look right” for them to be beech trees. I needed to do some detective work. What I discovered is that these s m a l l t r e e s a r e e a s t e r n hophornbeam, Ostrya virginiana. Hophornbeams (of which there are three species growing in the United States—the other two, Chisos and Knowlton, are western species) belong to the birch tree family. Characteristics of birch family members include oval, toothed leaves, slender branches, conspicuous male flower catkins, and seeds formed in a papery structure. A shade-tolerant tree, the eastern hophornbeam ranges throughout the eastern half of the United States. In Wisconsin, it prefers well-drained soils, often growing in the understory of a mature sugar maple-basswood forest. It is a small tree growing 20 to 40 feet tall with a diameter of only 6 to 15 inches. In a young tree, the bark is smooth. As the tree ages, the bark turns dark brown displaying vertical, thin, rectangular flaky scales. Its simple, alternate, two to five inch-long oval leaves end in a sharp point. Leaf margins display many “teeth”, taxonomically referred to as double-toothed or double-serrated. The reproductive structures are catkins. A catkin is defined as a dense spike with a non-fleshy axis (central

Badger Tracks Badger Tracks Badger Tracks Badger Tracks by Anita Carpenter

stem) bearing many small naked or apetalous (without petals) flowers. The greenish to reddish-brown male catkins are 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches long and dangle in a cluster of one to three catkins. Male catkins are preformed and visible on the tree over winter. Easily overlooked are the delicate and slender female catkins which appear at the end of the new year’s growth in spring. Male catkins swell and open to release pollen while female catkins open to receive pollen at the same time leaves sprout. After being wind-pollinated, the 1/4 inch long flattened nutlet forms inside a pointed, papery husk. Several husks hang together (much like a bunch of bananas) in a 1-1/2 to 2 inch-long cluster at the branch tips. This papery cluster, which resembles the grain hops, turns cream-colored and drops along with the leaves in autumn, that is, if the leaves drop. Upon seeing the seed cluster, identification of this tree should be easy. Much confusion surrounds the name of this native tree. Eastern hophornbeam is the botanically preferred common name. This tree has been called ironwood because of its

very hard wood. However, we must exercise caution using this ironwood name because another small W isconsin t ree, the Am er i can ho r nbeam , Carpinus caroliniana, is also called ironwood. It is also known as blue beech and musclewood. Hornbeams

are members of the birch family. Leaves of the two species are very similar but the American hornbeam’s bark is smooth, gray and sinewy, suggesting well-toned muscles. Another difference is that both male and female catkins of hornbeams emerge in spring. That is, male hornbeam catkins are not preformed and therefore, not visible during winter. Preferred habitats may also separate the two species as American hornbeams grow in rich, moist soil along streams and swamps, not in drier, mature upland forests. If I had been in Vilas County during summer, I may have overlooked this diminutive tree as it is overshadowed and dwarfed by its taller sugar maple and basswood compatriots. Because it retains its leaves during winter, eastern hophornbeam is now easily seen on the forest landscape to those who pause and wonder.

Tree of Iron

Audubon Adventures is a unique award-winning program that provides materials to teachers who then bring nature to their students. The classrooms who received materials this year, courtesy of generous donors, are the Boys and Girls Club, Grace Lutheran

Grade School, Jefferson Elementary, and Lourdes Academy - Seton Elementary. We would like to thank these sponsors who allowed this opportunity for students to happen: David Graham, Norm Whitford, Bill Zimar, and Frank Zuern.

Thank you Audubon Adventures Sponsors

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Male catkins Seed cluster

NON-PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE

PAID OSHKOSH WI PERMIT NO 90

Winnebago Audubon Society Mission Statement: Advance the mission of the National Audubon Society to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity through grassroots efforts of community outreach and advocacy.

AUDUBON SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

���� Chapter Only Membership: Your $20.00 stays in our chapter and you receive the Winnebago Audubon chapter newsletter and all chapter benefits. Make $20.00 check payable to Winnebago Audubon.

OR

� National Audubon Membership: Your $20.00 includes chapter membership and all chapter benefits, PLUS Audubon magazine and all national benefits. Make $20.00 check payable to National Audubon Society.

� I do not wish to receive solicitations from National Audubon Society.

Name: ____________________________________

Address: __________________________________

City/State/Zip: ______________________________ Chapter Code: C2ZZ120Z Mail this form with payment to: Pat Nichols, Membership, PO Box 184, Oshkosh, WI 54903

OFFICERS President: Janet Wissink 920-589-2602 / wiss@centurytel.net

Vice President: Dana Hartel 920-582-4498 / danahartel@yahoo.com

Secretary: Evelyn Meuret 920-573-7828 / evelynmeuret57@att.net

Treasurer: Carla Hansen 920-233-1129 / carlajhansen@sbcglobal.net DIRECTORS Zaiga Freivalds 920-233-5914 / zaigam@charter.net Dave Hanke 920-688-2907 Dave Moon 920-235-4429 / djmoon@northnet.net Pat Nichols 920-426-0261 / patnichols@earthlink.net

Important Note: TEMPORARILY AWAY? Please notify us if you will be temporarily away. The post office will not forward your newsletter. If your newsletter is returned to us, we remove you from our mailing list. Please contact Pat Nichols at patnichols@earthlink.net or 920-426-0261 with any questions.

RENEWALS: Your mailing label includes your membership expiration date above your name. If you are a “Chapter Only” member the word CHAPTER will appear after the expiration date. Please renew your chapter membership by filling out the application form below. Thank you for helping us save on the cost of renewal reminders. If you are a member of National Audubon, NATL will appear after the expiration date. You will receive renewal notices from National or you may renew by using the form below. If you are receiving a complimentary newsletter, COMP will appear with an expiration date. Please consider joining our chapter by using the application below.

GO GREEN by opting to receive your newsletter via e-mail. Contact Pat Nichols at patnichols@earthlink.net

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Welcome to Winnebago AudubonWelcome to Winnebago AudubonWelcome to Winnebago AudubonWelcome to Winnebago Audubon

A special thank you to all those who are renewing again this year as well. You are invited to participate in activities of your local

Winnebago Audubon chapter. It's a great way to meet like-minded people and to enjoy what nature has to offer.

If you are a new member of National or the Chapter and haven’t seen your name here in the last couple of issues, please contact

Pat Nichols, Membership Chair (email me at: patnichols@earthlink.net)

Kris Bolda Steven D’Camp

Janet Fendt Philip Florio Nicola Halda

Judith Hankes Theresa Higgins

Toivo Kallas Linette Larson

Francis & Suzan Mathe Melissa Meidem Leann Meinen

Omro High School Library Lyn Robinson Julia Wahlberg

Beth Wells Ina Wettstein

Silent Auction Items needed for Spring Banquet

If you would like to donate to the Silent Auction, please contact Janet at wiss@centurytel.net or 920-589-2602.

SAVE THE DATE: April 20